Farhan Akhtar discusses Lucknow Central role; addresses Don 3, ZNMD sequel rumours

Farhan Akhtar starrer Lucknow Central has been creating a lot of buzz ever since the film’s first look was revealed. The film is about a bunch of prisoners who choose the path of music to ’escape’ their life imprisonment sentences, and in that endeavour they form a band.

Akhtar plays the role of a guy from a small town who is wrongly implicated in a crime and finds himself a prey to the dubious justice mechanism and the deteriorating condition of jails in India. Lucknow Central also stars Deepak Dobriyal, Gippy Grewal, Rajesh Sharma and Inaamulhaq. Directed by Ranjit Tiwari and produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Emmay Entertainment, the film is slated to  release  on 15 September.

Akhtar is known for his versatility in terms of his skills as an actor, director, producer, writer, singer as well as his choice of films.

Speaking to Mumbai Mirror , the Bhaag Milkha Bhaag actor talked about his experiences while working in Lucknow Central. He said, “I learnt a lot of things through Ranjit [Tiwari, director of the film> and the prep. There’s a band called Healing Hearts in Lucknow’s Adarsh Jail that is invited to play at weddings. I met the band; they’re sweet guys who’ve found peace in music. It is essentially a brass band, like the ones playing Hindi songs at shaadis, and we’ve retained that…When you’re in jail for 15-20 years, there are few things that can give you joy or make you feel optimistic. But there were smiles on these inmates’ faces when they were playing music. We’ve tried to recreate that emotion on screen. Music is their path to reformation.”

Apart from Lucknow Central, Akhtar will reportedly be seen in a Nishikant Kamat film along with Sanjay Dutt. The film is being produced by Ajay Devgn. Speaking about the film, Akhtar adds, “I met Nishikant and he took me through the journey of the film. It’s a big action-comedy-drama, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s something new for me. I liked his last film, Drishyam, very much and I’ve known Sanju for a really long time. Interestingly, we have similar tastes in music, but we’ve never discussed working together. Sanju’s a great chap. I can never base the decision of doing a film on whether it is just about me or not. I don’t think any actor should ever do that. If actors like a script and enjoy their part in it, they should do it. My job is not to be a solo hero, it’s never just about me.”

While he is looking forward to his upcoming film (as an actor), there are persistent speculations about his gearing up for the third installment of his Don franchise. “I’ve become a little careful when speaking about Don 3 because people ask me if I want to make it and I say, ‘Sure, I’d absolutely love to’ and that gets translated into misleading things. It’s unfair to the people who are actually eagerly waiting for it to happen. There’s no state secret to Don 3, I’ll just talk about it when I feel I am ready,” says Akhtar.

The multi-faceted Akhtar will also be writing the dialogue for his sister and filmmaker Zoya Akhtar’s upcoming film, Gully Boys starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt. “…Right now, we are discussing the screenplay and structure, empathising with characters. I am very much involved and excited to get cracking on this film. I am writing the dialogue and will start as soon as Lucknow Central is done.”

He also hinted at the possibility of a supposed sequel of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. “I hope Zoya and Reema are covertly sitting somewhere and writing the script to surprise us with it soon. Hrithik’s (Roshan), Katrina’s (Kaif), Abhay (Deol) and Ritesh [Sidhwani, Akhtar’s business partner and friend>, everyone has asked her to start writing. I too have been telling her she has to do it. That journey was so much fun,” informs Akhtar.

Read Akhtar’s full interview here .